What just happened? It seems even those people creating job-stealing robots are at risk of becoming unemployed. Amazon confirmed this week that it laid off staff across its robotics unit, with at least 100 white-collar jobs affected. It comes soon after the company laid off 30,000 people and canceled its Blue Jay warehouse robot.
The division that was axed on Tuesday is responsible for designing robots and other conveyances, primarily in warehouses, writes Reuters.
In a message to employees seen by Business Insider, Amazon Robotics VP Scott Dresser described the changes as "difficult but necessary." He stressed that robots remain a "strategic priority" for Amazon.
In October 2025, Amazon said it would be reducing its corporate workforce by about 14,000 people in a move that it partly blamed on AI adoption – though reducing organizational layers was framed as the main cause.
Another round of layoffs was announced in January. This time, 16,000 corporate roles were cut, bringing the total since October to around 30,000, about 10% of the company's white-collar workforce. Since late 2022, Amazon has cut more than 57,000 corporate roles.
Last month, Amazon quietly shelved Blue Jay, a multi-armed robot designed to accelerate same-day deliveries, just a few months after its debut. The machine reportedly faced steep manufacturing costs and complex installation demands, particularly due to its ceiling-mounted structure.
Amazon has also closed its Fresh and Go grocery chains and made smaller job cuts in its devices and services, books, podcasts, and public relations divisions. But it certainly isn't cutting back on AI spending, which is projected to account for the bulk of its $200 billion in capital expenditures throughout 2026.
In October 2025, a report citing leaked company documents revealed that Amazon hopes its warehouse robots will fill more than 600,000 US positions it would have had to hire for by 2033. The report added that Amazon's robotics team aims to automate 75% of all operations at the company.
Amazon responded a day later with claims that robots aren't taking human jobs. Strangely, it did so while unveiling two new machines designed to take human jobs. One was Blue Jay, which obviously didn't turn out as well as expected.